


Swear Jar

by planetcleer



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Boys Kissing Boys, M/M, That's literally all this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 04:38:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2534477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetcleer/pseuds/planetcleer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>from firebornaustrian on tumblr - "Gavin starts a swear jar for Michael"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swear Jar

**Author's Note:**

> soooooooo hello friends. i finally have an ao3 account heyoooo
> 
> basically i'm just gonna repost all of my old fics from my tumblr and then start working on new ones. this is from over a year ago and idk i wasn't really used to their personalities yet so it's kinda like... not 100% great? i swear i don't write them like this anymore tho, pinkie swear

This is how it starts: Gavin’s got a killer headache and Michael  _will not stop swearing_. There isn’t even any recording going on, for Christ’s sake! In fact, he swore even less when he  _was_ recording the Rage Quit that he’s now editing, and that’ssaying a whole freaking lot because this is  _Michael_ during a  _Rage Quit_ we’re talking about here.

And all his screaming and ‘fuck’s and ‘I swear to God you little piece of shit I will punch your stupid screen in’s are  _not_ helping Gavin’s migraine. All the Tylenol in the world couldn’t drown him out at this point, and this isn’t even the first time this has happened before!

Eventually, Gavin’s had enough of it. He gets up, disappears out the door without a word, and reappears about fifteen minutes later with a jar in hand (it’s got NEW GAME FUND written across it in Sharpie). It’s set rather violently on the edge of his desk closest to Michael, making everyone look up from whatever the hell they’re all busy with.

“You’re getting a swear jar, Michael,” Gavin explains, more amused now that he’s had some time to cool off in the kitchen, “Every time you swear it’s gonna cost you a quarter.” Then he just sits down in his chair and goes back to researching a new video game that came out a week ago, ignoring Michael’s exasperated splutters and the everyone else’s laughter.

It takes him  _seven seconds_  (yeah, Gavin counted) to pay the first contribution to the jar. Theoretically, anyway, because it takes another, like, ten minutes to get him to actually cough up the quarter. Gavin eventually, and quite triumphantly, drops it into the jar, anyway. Another joins it within the space of a few moments. (“Jesus Christ,  _here_! Have your goddamn quarter!” “Oh, Michael, that’s another one. Pay up!” “You little piece of-!”)

When, almost  _every day_ , Michael starts running out of change to pay, has to  _borrow_ from Geoff or Jack or Ray or Lindsay or anyone who’ll pity him, Gavin decides something’s gotta change. So far, it seems that, while this paying money thing is totally an inconvenience for him, the swear jar just isn’t working. It’s not enough of an incentive to get him to stop, for some reason.

So Gavin comes up with another plan.

Okay, now Gavin’s got an admittedly huge crush on (or, y'know, is basically in love with) Michael. It’s unrequited and he  _knows_ that, even sort of came to terms with the fact awhile ago. That’s why this new plan is so golden.

Instead of paying a quarter, Gavin announces the morning of the tenth day, Michael has to  _kiss him_ every time he swears.

And it’s perfect, it’s  _so perfect_ , because either way Gavin wins. It’s also pathetic as hell, he has to admit, but he’s the only one who knows about his crush (read: Big Gay Love), so he’s the only one who thinks so. The rest of the Achievement Hunter guys, and anyone else who knows about The Jar, just thinks he’s a smug little genius, because why would  _Michael_  want to kiss  _him_? Michael’ll stop swearing in, like, a day, tops.

Until then, well… Gavin gets a bunch of free kisses from the guy he’s into. Like he said, win/win situation. (Also, really fucking  _pathetic_ , but he’s still trying not to think about that.)

The only thing is… Michael doesn’t stop swearing. Not even after the super awkward first time it happens, which goes a bit like this:

 **Michael:** Where did you get this coffee, Gav? It tastes like shit!

 **Gavin:** The break room. And you just swore, Michael.

 **Michael:** _Da-ngit!_ Do I seriously have to  _kiss you_?

 **Gavin:** Hey, you agreed to it when I told you this morning!

 **Michael:** God, I hate you  _so much_. Can’t I just do it on the cheek?

 **Gavin:** Nope. Right on the lips, Michael.

 **Geoff:** At least five seconds, too!

 **Michael:** I frickin’ hate you  _all_.

Then they were kissing and it was awkward and weird and stiff and forced, but it was also  _Michael kissing Gavin_ , so Gavin was happy. Outwardly amused and sort of grossed out, sure, but inwardly  _very_ happy.

But yeah, he doesn’t stop swearing. In fact, Gavin is almost positive that Michael starts swearing  _more_ , though he doesn’t call him out on it. And after awhile, the kisses sort of stop being so awkward, too. Like… Michael starts getting into them, which is of course because he’s just silly and trying to be funny, but… But still.

While recording or editing or eating or whatever they’re doing, Michael will lean over to cup Gavin’s cheeks and pull him into a kiss or plop down right in his lap or press up right against his chest. He’ll even  _track him down_  if he curses when Gavin’s not in the room.

And it’s killing him. It’s completely killing him, because when Michael kisses him, it doesn’t feel like a friend kissing a friend because he has to. The longer this goes on, the sweeter and warmer the kisses are, the  _gentler_ Michael is. Before this, Gavin never  _ever_ associated him with being gentle, but now?

Now he’s just really fucking confused.

Michael Jones is straight, first of all. Even if he wasn’t, it’s not like he would be into _Gavin_ , of all people, so where is this coming from? Is he just putting on a show for everyone? Or, holy hell, does he  _know_ that Gavin likes him? If that’s the case, then he’s just purposely being a dick and leading Gavin on, right? Or making fun of him or something. And that  _hurts_.

Gavin’s real breaking point is when, two Sundays after the kissing begins, he gets a text from Michael.

 **Michael Jones**  
just so you know, Gav, I owe you five kisses tomorrow

And Gavin just  _loses it_ , because no straight guy says that kind of shit to his best friend unless he’s just fucking with him and this  _isn’t okay_.

On a whim, he calls a cab to drive him all the way to Michael’s apartment (considering he can’t drive and he doesn’t want to pull Griffon or Geoff into this mess). He’s  _hurt_ and he’s  _pissed_  and he wants to know what the hell’s going on  _right now_. It isn’t long before he’s practically pounding the door, waiting not so patiently for Michael to open it so he can find out.

As soon as he’s inside, he’s up in Michael’s face, glaring daggers at him, “What the hell, Michael?”

For the most part, Michael looks surprised and sort of freaked out because Gavin just _doesn’t get mad_. In all the time they’ve known each other, he hasn’t seen him actually angry like this, not once. “What?”

“What the  _hell_? You’re up to something, I  _know_ you are,” Gavin accuses, arms crossed over his chest, “This kissing thing was supposed to  _stop_ you from swearing, Michael, but you’re doing it even more now! If this is your idea of some joke, it isn’t funny. So stop.”

Something flashes across Michael’s features, too quick to really be distinguishable, before his gaze hardens a bit and he narrows his eyes at Gavin. “What’re you even talking about, Gavin?” He’s defensive now, maybe even a bit angry, but Gavin, for the life of him, can’t figure out  _why._ Michael isn’t the one being strung along like he hasn’t got any feelings!

“I can tell you’re doing it on purpose, Michael! And the way you  _kiss_ me, Jesus Christ, that isn’t-you’re not-” Gavin lets out a frustrated huff and throws his hands up in the air, trying to reign in his anger. He’s one of those people who  _very_ rarely gets mad, but when he does, it’s ridiculous how  _livid_ he gets. It escalates quickly, too, because his anger apparently needs to make up for how easy-going he usually is, “You  _know,_ don’t you?”

“Do I know  _what_?!” Michael’s mostly just confused and annoyed now, having no idea what he’s done wrong and just irritated because Gavin is being so damn  _vague_ about it. If this is what he thinks it is, if Gavin’s figured out about his feelings for him and is, like, disgusted or something, then things between them aren’t going to end well. Hopefully that isn’t it.

“That I  _like_ you, Michael! You know I like you and you’re just being a stupid, fucking prick about it and, like, making fun of me or something! That’s it, isn’t it?!”

Michael instantly freezes and looksat Gavin, just  _looks_ at him. His face is sort of red, hands clenched into fists at his side, big expressive eyes a whole  _mess_ of emotions, none of which are particularly good… But he isn’t fucking around. Gavin’s legitimately upset by this and, as far as Michael can tell, he meant it when he said that he has feelings for him. It’s a good thing, hell, it’s a fucking  _fantastic_ thing, but just the fact that  _he’s_ the one who made Gavin Free so unhappy makes him feel like shit. Especially because Gavin thinks he did it on  _purpose_.

“You honestly think I would do that kinda shit to you?” Michael steps closer, gently catching Gavin’s hands by his wrists to keep him from backing away or something, “Seriously?”

Just as quickly as it came, Gavin’s anger mostly fades away, leaving him to stare down at Michael’s fingers around his wrists resignedly as he mutters, “You’re always messing with me, Michael. Plus, you’re-you’re  _straight_. What else would I think?”

“Maybe that I’m into you, you stupid idiot,” Michael answered without any heat, moving to slot his fingers in the spaces between Gavin’s and smiling when the Brit looked at him with wide eyes, “You’re right, man, I purposely started swearing more. You kept letting me kiss you and I figured it was just because you wanted to prove you had balls and wouldn’t back down, y’know?.”

Gavin blinks a few times, obviously needing a moment to process the information before he hesitantly began speaking, “So you… You like me, Michael?”

And Michael just laughs, because Gavin is so adorably oblivious that it’s really sort of funny, “Jesus, Grabbin, I just said that. Yeah, I like you. I like kissing you, too. Guess m’not as straight as you thought, huh?”

“Oh… Well, I feel ten times better now,” Gavin’s grin is bright and sheepish at the same time as he takes a step closer to Michael, putting them nearly chest to chest, “So if we both like each other and we both like kissing each other… Does that mean we can do it whenever? Even if you don’t swear?”

“What, like right now?” Michael drops one of Gavin’s hands in favor of bringing it up to cup his cheek, a teasing grin on his face because  _fuck_ yeah, right now would be awesome.

Gavin just returns the grin and averts his gaze in an unusually shy way, glancing back at Michael after half a second, “Yeah, exactly like right now, Michael.”

And finally,  _finally_  they’re doing it. They’re kissing. Gavin moves to snake his arms around Michael’s neck, one hand tangling up in the curls at the back of his head as if trying to make him stay. Michael strokes Gavin’s cheek once before his hands settle on Gavin’s hips, wrapping around his waist so he can pull them flush against each other.

Obviously this isn’t their first kiss, but it’s different, anyway. There are sparks this time, fireworks going off in their heads, goose bumps spreading across their skin. It’s new and it’s perfect and it’s honestly so completely  _them_ , even with all the nose bumping and teeth clashing.  _Especially_ with all the nose bumping and teeth clashing… No, it isn’t their first kiss, but it’s their first  _real_ one, and now? Now they  _know_.

Now they know that they’re a couple of assholes in love.


End file.
